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The Dead Rising (film)/Transcript
This is the transcript for the upcoming animated film, The Dead Rising. This script is in need of expansion to make it feature-length. Part 1: Opening/Meet Lena (Shows Netflix logo) (The scene fades to the moon on the starry night sky. The camera pans down to a cemetery as the opening credits start playing.) Netflix presents A 1492 Pictures Reel FX Animation Studios and The Sergio Pablos Animation Studios Production (The camera pans to what appears to be Mercy Brown's grave. The lightning flashes as the film's title appears.) THE DEAD RISING (The lightning flashes again as the scene transitions to a neighborhood in Exeter, Rhode Island.) EXETER, RHODE ISLAND 2020 (The camera pans down to three 7th graders, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan, dressed in costumes, going trick-or-treating. They walk up to the door of a small house and ring the bell. The scene cuts to a grinning jack-o’-lantern flickering on the porch. The scene cuts back to the door when, a moment later, an elderly woman opens it.) Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan: TRICK OR TREAT! Mrs. Ainsley: Well, aren’t you all adorable? (to Jacob) Ooh, a vampire! What a handsome ghoul you are. Jacob: (removing his vampire teeth) Thanks, ma’am. Mrs. Ainsley: (to Sophia) And what are you, young lady? Some kind of disco singer? Sophia: Actually, I'm a 1980s pop star. Mrs. Ainsley: (to Ethan) And, oh, you must be a kitty cat! Ethan: Well, sort of... I’m Black Panther. Mrs. Ainsley: You can each take one piece of licorice, okay? Don’t stay out too late. (Mrs. Ainsley gives Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan a piece of licorice each.) Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan: Thanks. (The three 7th graders walk back to the street.) Jacob: One piece of licorice? Seriously? I was expecting someone to give me a chocolate bar or something like that. (sighs) (Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan watch two parents drag a screaming toddler dressed as a pumpkin to the next house.) Sophia: (sighs) This is lame. Ethan: Let’s just go see a movie. Sophia: Sure, yeah. It looks like rain anyway. (Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan start heading towards the movie theater to go see a movie. As thunder rumbles in the distance, a teenage girl in a plain white dress walks by. She drops a silver bracelet. Sophia scoops it up and calls after the girl.) Sophia: Hey! You dropped your bracelet! (The girl turns around. She has very pale skin, black hair, and deep-blue eyes. Sophia hands her the bracelet.) Teenage Girl: Thank you. I like your costumes. Jacob: Uh, thanks. I’m Jacob. This is Sophia. Sophia: Hi. Jacob: And this is Ethan. Ethan: Hello. What's your name? Lena: My name is Lena. Ethan: Are you from Exeter? I don’t recognize you. Lena: Yes, I’ve lived here forever. Sophia: So what’s your costume? Lena: I’m Mercy Brown. Ethan: Who? Lena: Mercy Brown. (sighs) She lived here about a hundred years ago. And she... (trailing off) Sophia: What? And she what? Lena: She was a vampire. At least, that’s what some people thought. Sophia: A vampire? Do you mean like Jacob? Lena: No, not like that. It was said that Mercy’s spirit rose from the dead to feast on the living. Jacob: Gross. Lena: She is buried here in this town. In fact, I am on my way to visit her grave. Do you want to come along? Sophia: Sure! Jacob: Totally. Ethan: (to Sophia and Jacob) You guys just want a photo for Instagram. (to Lena) Actually, we’re going to see a movie. Sophia: Oh, come on, Ethan. The cemetery is more fun than the movies. Jacob: It’ll be a Halloween adventure. Ethan: Fine, fine. Lena, show us the way. Lena: Will do, Ethan. Come, all of you. (Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan follow Lena as she leads them the way to the cemetery where Mercy's grave is.) Jacob: So, Lena, tell us the story of Mercy Brown. Lena: Very well. It all happened in 1892. Exeter was smaller then, and isolated. Mercy’s family lived on a humble farm. Their lives had been filled with tragedy.... Part 2: Mercy's Death/The Neighbors (The lightning flashes as the scene transitions to the house in 1892 where the Browns live.) EXETER, RHODE ISLAND 1892 (The scene cuts to black. Then, the lights come up on a simple but cozy and comfortable bedroom with faded floral wallpaper. Mercy Brown, a 19-year-old young woman from the story Lena is telling, lies in bed, shivering and sweating. She coughs violently into a handkerchief that is red with blood. George, Mercy’s father, stands across the room with Dr. Metcalf, talking quietly.) George: There’s really nothing you can do, Doctor? Dr. Metcalf: There is no cure for consumption. Even the cause is debated. George: Yes, I know. That’s what they told me a decade ago, when consumption claimed my wife, and again months later when it claimed my eldest daughter. Oh, Doctor... what have I done to deserve this? Dr. Metcalf: I’m sorry, George. It’s a terrible disease. George: Mercy is so frail; her body has wasted away. Dr. Metcalf: Your son, Edwin, how is his health? George: More sorrow! His consumption has only gotten worse. Oh, Doctor, what will I do? (The scene fades back to Lena, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan in the present day. They are still walking to the cemetery.) Lena: Mercy died later that night. Jacob: What’s consumption? (The group stops walking as Ethan looks up the information of consumption on his phone.) Ethan: (looking at his phone) I already googled it. Jacob: Really? Let's see. (Jacob looks at the information on Ethan's phone.) Ethan: Okay, so, it says here "Consumption is now known as tuberculosis. The disease is caused by a bacterium that usually infects the lungs. Highly contagious, it was once the leading cause of death in the United States. Scientists discovered the bacterium in 1882, but the news was slow to reach rural areas.” Jacob: So the cause was known, but they hadn’t heard about it in Exeter? Ethan: Well, it says here a cure wasn’t developed until the 1940s, so knowing the cause wouldn’t have done Mercy much good anyway. Jacob: You're right. Let's keep walking. (The group continues walking to the cemetery.) Sophia: So, what does all of this have to do with vampires? Lena: I will tell you. After Mercy’s death, her body was placed in the family crypt until spring because the frozen ground made digging a grave impossible. Meanwhile, it seemed that Edwin was soon to follow his sister.... (The lightning flashes again as the scene transitions back to 1892 where George sits by his son Edwin's bed. Edwin's cough is bad.) George: My son... (There is a knock on the front door. George wipes away his tears and leaves to greet his guests. Edwin listens through the wall of his bedroom.) Wilson: My dear George, how are you? Cora: How is young Edwin? Horace: We have all been praying for him. Ethel: We still mourn the loss of Mercy. George: Thank you, friends. Please, come in. (The four neighbors enter George’s parlor. It’s gloomy and dusty.) George: It’s nice to see you. I rarely have guests. In fact, I didn't want any guests at first. Maybe it's because I was happy with my family. But now, times have changed, and I was starting to get lonely as my family started shrinking... and shrinking... and shrinking every time. Cora: Um, yes. We noticed. Uh, George, we’ve come to discuss something. Horace: We feel so sorry for your family. Wilson: Consumption is a scourge. Ethel: But let’s not give up hope for Edwin. Have you considered... uh... hmmm... (Ethel thinks of something, but then, he came up with a brilliant idea.) Ethel: Have you ever thought about alternative treatments? George: Alternative treatments? Wilson: You see, George, some in town believe that Edwin’s sickness is caused by certain, shall we say... spirits. George: Spirits? Cora: Evil spirits of the dead, they come to feast on the blood of the living. George: That’s absurd! Horace: Now, George, just hear us out. There is a very old remedy that we believe could save Edwin. George: What sort of remedy? (George’s neighbors huddle around him and whisper. The scene cuts to Edwin still listening through the wall of his bedroom. He then presses his ear to the wall. The scene then cuts back to the four neighbors whispering to George. When they finish, George stands abruptly and gets angry at them.) George: LEAVE MY HOME! NOW! Cora: George, please— George: How dare you propose such a thing! Wilson: This could be your only chance. Ethel: What have you to lose? Horace: Your refusal puts the whole town at risk! George: OUT! I DON'T WANT ANY GUESTS IN MY HOUSE ANYWAY! SO, GET OUT! OUT, OUT, OUT! (The four neighbors gasped and stood still in silence.) Wilson: Okay. Come on, people. Let's go. (The four neighbors exit George's house. George then walks to the door and slams it. He then returns to Edwin’s bedside.) Edwin: Father, I heard something about a remedy. What did they say? George: Nothing. It's just nonsense... it's... madness. Edwin: Just tell me. George: Well... (George whispers into his son’s ear.) Edwin: What if it works? George: You’re not suggesting— Edwin: It is horrible, I know, but... (coughs violently) what if it works? It could stop the spread of the disease and save everyone, maybe even me. Part 3: The Remedy/Edwin's Death/Lena's Disappearance (The scene fades back to Lena, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan in the present day. The group stands outside the gates of Chestnut Hill Cemetery. Behind them, a white church sits quietly among the weathered old tombstones. A thick layer of fog hangs in the air.) Ethan: Wait, what was the remedy? Sophia: It must have been something awful. (Lena gazes into the cemetery.) Lena: We are here. (The friends look around, just now noticing where they are standing.) Jacob: I forgot how creepy this place is. Sophia: Well, yeah. It’s a cemetery. Ethan: So, Lena, what happened? Lena: Well, reluctantly, George and Edwin agreed to go through with what the townspeople proposed. But neither would be present for the ritual, which took place on a cold night right here in this very cemetery.... (The lightning flashes again as the scene transitions back to 1892 where, under the night sky, the townspeople gather around two coffins that have just been dug up. The light of their candles reveals the names on the tombstones that mark the two now-empty graves: Mary E. Brown and Mary O. Brown, Mercy’s mom and sister. Dr. Metcalf opens the coffin lids and peers inside the coffins themselves. For a moment, no one says a word.) Dr. Metcalf: (sighs) It's no good. There were supposed to be two bodies inside two separate coffins. And what have we found? Nothing. Nothing but bones and dust. Ethel: We must check Mercy’s coffin. It’s in the crypt. (The group turns to the Brown family crypt. Two men open the creaky wooden door and carry out Mercy’s coffin. Dr. Metcalf lifts the lid.) Wilson: (gasping) She hasn’t rotted a bit! Cora: Her position has changed. She’s been... m-moving! Townspeople: Check her organs! Horace: If there’s blood in her organs, we’ll know for sure she’s a vampire. (Dr. Metcalf takes a scalpel from his bag. He cuts open the corpse and removes the heart and liver.) Townspeople: Cut open the heart! (Dr. Metcalf slices into Mercy’s heart.) Dr. Metcalf: Oh, d-dear! B-b-blood! Ethel: So it’s true! Townspeople: It is true! Ethel: Mercy’s spirit has been rising from the grave to feed on her brother! (The townspeople light a fire on a nearby stone and drop the heart and liver into the flames.) Townspeople: Burn! Burn! Burn! (They watch as the organs are consumed by the fire, their faces wild in the orange glow of the blaze.) Townspeople: Burn the organs! Kill the spirit! (The townspeople watch until the fire dies out.) Horace: Collect the remains. We will mix them with water and feed them to the boy. If he wants to live, Edwin must drink the ashes of his sister’s organs. (The lightning flashes again as the scene transitions back to Lena, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan in the present day. The group has paused near a cluster of tombstones. Jacob’s face is twisted in disgust.) Jacob: Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick! (Jacob covers his mouth, runs inside the public restroom, and throws up into the toilet off-screen. He then gets out of the restroom and walks back to where his other two friends and Lena are.) Sophia: Hmmm, let me guess. Too many candy bars? Or is it the "drinking the ashes of your dead sister’s organs" thing? Ethan: Mercy had been dead only a few months. That’s why there was still blood in her heart. And the cold weather probably slowed decomposition. Jacob: Thanks, Dr. Metcalf. Lena: (pointing) There it is— the grave of Mercy Brown. (Lena, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan see the grave.) Jacob: What happened to Edwin? Did he drink the ashes? Lena: He did— and he still died less than two months later. His grave is right here, next to his sister’s. (The scene fades back to 1892 on a sunny afternoon where Dr. Metcalf and George stand by Edwin’s grave.) George: How could you let me go through with it? I defiled the remains of my wife, my daughters... all for nothing. Dr. Metcalf: Not for nothing. It was for the good of the town. George: Newspapers are calling us ignorant and uncivilized. We’ve disgraced ourselves. Dr. Metcalf: Yes, well, that is unfortunate. George: Leave me alone with my misery. (Dr. Metcalf places a hand on George’s shoulder, but George looks away. The scene fades back to Lena, Jacob, Sophia, and Ethan in the present day.) Lena: George lived in sorrow until 1922. Jacob: So, the ritual didn’t work? Lena: Of course not! Mercy was not a vampire. People just didn’t understand consumption. They were afraid and panicked. But their ritual had an unintended result. It released Mercy’s spirit, dooming her to wander sad and alone for all time— (Lena’s words are cut off by a bad coughing fit.) Ethan: (laughing) Spooky ending! Hey, are you okay? (Lena doesn’t answer. She solemnly approaches the grave and leaves her bracelet on top.) Jacob: I’m going to leave something for Mercy too. (Jacob places his plastic vampire teeth on the grave. Ethan leaves a handful of candy. Sophia takes off her hoop earrings and crouches beside the grave. Ethan notices the name on the tombstone.) Ethan: “Mercy L. Brown.” What does the “L” stand for? (Ethan looks up, but Lena has disappeared.) Jacob: Where’d she go? Sophia: Um, guys? This bracelet she left is engraved: Mercy Lena Brown. Ethan: Oh, yes! So it is! (With a loud burst of thunder, rain begins to fall, as the three friends stand in stunned silence. The camera then pans up to the moon on the starry night sky. The scene fades to black and the film ends with the closing credits.) 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